I Won't Give Up
by vballgirl1014
Summary: Austin is going through a lot, and of course Ally, his best friend, is there for him. Emotions are running high, and something happens that can never be erased. Will things ever be the way it was? Auslly.
1. Chapter 1

I Won't Give Up: Chapter 1

A/N: New story! Yay! I thought about what I wanted this to be about, and I have a general idea. But I'm kind of winging it! The title is based on Jason Mraz's song, because it is so beautiful! I love it! Anyways, I really hope you enjoy this, and please review to let me know what you think! Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally or anything else, sadly.

Ally's POV

Bare feet slapping the hot pavement, hair coming undone from a messy bun, and sweat forming on my hairline. I was sprinting from my house, towards Austin's. His house was always open for me, I normally walk in without knocking. And that is exactly what I did. Except I burst through the front door, probably looking like a crazy person escaped from an insane asylum.

I had been texting Austin while eating breakfast when I found out. When I received his message, my spoon dropped out of my hand and into my soggy cereal.

**Austin: my dad had an affair and my parents are getting a divorce. SOS**

Quickly spitting out the mouthful of Frosted Flakes, I threw my bed-head hair into a messy bun and started running. I did not stop until I reached his front door.

"Ally?" Mrs. Moon called from inside the laundry room. She sounded concerned, and I just gave her a breathless hello. Hearing a door open upstairs, I hopped the steps two at a time and marched down the hall to Austin's messy bedroom. It was next to his brother, Tommy's room.

That's where I found him. The blond rockstar, slumped over on his bed, running a hand through his hair. My heart went out to him, and I silently sat next to him, wrapping my arm over his shoulders. Austin didn't even glance at me. My breathing was uneven, and his hands shook. "Hey." I offered weakly, knowing it wasn't even close to what I had planned on saying.

"Hi." He swallowed, finally looking me straight in the eye. He leaned into me, and I was grateful to be able to be there for him. I was always the one who needed him, and finally I had my chance to help him. Balance.

"I…I'm sorry." Not knowing how to put it into words, I just continued to hold him, rubbing his back gently.

"Thanks." Austin's soft hair was in my face, and I breathed in the sweet smell of him. "You know, it just sucks."

"Yeah, you're right. It sucks. Bad." I said, agreeing. I could empathize with him, because I had been through it, and was still going through it. You never get over it. You don't just move on.

"I feel like I want to cry, but I don't think I should. And sometimes I want to punch him, really hard. I want to scream and yell at him, pitching a huge fit. You know, throwing stuff. And then I just want to leave. I want to run. But I have my mom, and Tommy… I just don't know. Why weren't we good enough? Why wasn't I good enough?" He poured out, his words like a waterfall that has built up over time. I was the one crying, not him. Austin was strong, stronger than I ever was. His parents were getting a divorce, like mine. His dad had an affair. Like my mom.

"I know. I know. " That's all I could say. I did know.

"And you know what's worse? He actually sat us all down together and told us like that. My mom just went all quiet, but I could see she was about to cry. I saw my mom cry. Do you know how much that sucks? And my brother, he just started yelling. I didn't know what I was supposed to do.." Austin has not shed any tears. I tried desperately to stop mine from flowing, but I just can't. My best friend looked down at me and saw my tears, and wiped them away slowly, staring at my face as if he'd never seen it before. I blushed, looking down at my hands in my lap.

"God, Austin. I am so sorry. I just- I don't know what to tell you. It gets better? That's a lie. You can forgive him? I'd probably be lying then too. I'm just so sorry that this happened to you. I'm here, Austin."

"And you know what? I feel so bad for _you_." He told me, flopping down on his bed, staring at the ceiling with posters of musicians all over it.

"Why?" I asked, curious.

"Because you had to go through this alone. You don't have siblings. Ally, you're so strong." The blond said casually, flipping his hair out of his eyes. I was suddenly self conscious. Here I was, in my short pajama shorts and dirty tank top, no shoes or makeup. My messy hair and tears all over my face.

"No I'm not." I said softly, shaking my head. He didn't know. I went through it all silently. Not my dad or Trish knew what I felt. Sure, I'd try to bring it up occasionally, but I never actually told them how my heart was broken. But with Austin, it was so much different. Without a conscious thought, the words came out of me. "I said nothing. I was silent. I was heart broken, but no one even knew. I'm a good actress." I laughed in spite of myself.

"Maybe, but it takes a strong person to hide their true feelings all the time." Austin offered, nudging me.

"It takes a stronger person to talk about them, though." I countered, shrugging. He looked away, lost in thought. I sighed, defeated and emotionally tired. I heard Mrs. Moon pacing around downstairs, probably cooking or doing housework. Austin's father was no where to be found.

7777777

"Song. Song, song, song…" I sang quietly to myself, testing out a new melody. Trish groaned and threw a pillow at my head. Again.

"Shut up, Ally! I'm taking a nap here! I'm on my break from Pastry Land, and I don't want to be disturbed by your music!" The short and feisty Latino girl complained, rolling over on the couch in the practice room.

"But this is a music practice room! If you have a problem, then leave." I suggested, casually tapping the piano keys in front of me. A pretty tune played out, and I smiled, writing down the notes for later.

Completely changing the subject, Trish brought up Austin. "Why is Austin acting so weird lately? He never does anything stupid anymore. Is he sick?"

"No, he's not sick." I said vaguely, not sure if he wanted her to know his secret. "He's just…tired." That wasn't a lie. He was tired from all of the family drama.

"Ally, you are the worst liar. There's something going on that you're not telling me."

"Then go ask him, idiot!" I shot back, frustrated. Dez chose that moment to walk in, eating a waffle. He glanced around with a bored look on his face, and plopped down on an orange chair in the corner.

"Hey guys. I'm sad." Dez pouted, shoving the rest of his waffle in his mouth. Trish sighed, clenching her fists.

"Why, Dez?" I asked him, not really caring, but being a good friend. The tall, gangly redhead kicked off his big clown shoes and pulled out a picture of something from his backpack. It was a gorilla.

"They moved my favorite gorilla from the zoo in Miami to the zoo in a different city! Now I'll never see Sally again." He sobbed dramatically, and Trish threw her other pillow at him.

"No one cares, Dez!" She yelled angrily, and storms out of the room, pushing past Austin on the way out. To him she said, "You're being weird, too! Something's up, and no one tells me anything!" She cried out, jabbing a finger in his direction, and continued her furious exit. Dez looked from Austin to me helplessly, and swiftly got up to leave as well, gorilla picture in hand.

"Rough day?" Austin noticed my frustrated expression, and offered me a pickle from behind his back. I grinned, accepting the pickle and taking a big bite.

"Not really, just kind of slow." I said, motioning for him to come over to the piano bench. He did, and rested his thigh against mine. It wasn't weird, because we're best friends and we always did that. But I couldn't help but think in the back of my mind, _I want a boyfriend just like Austin._ And that was certainly not a thought you think about your best friend. Oh, well.

"Let me help." Austin cracked his knuckles, making me cringe, and played a familiar melody on the piano. Break Down the Walls. His voice rang out through the practice room, and I closed my eyes to focus on his beautiful music. Humming along, my fingers found the right keys and played with him. The song ended abruptly, and I slowly opened my eyes to find Austin's large brown ones right in front of mine. His face… so close to mine….can't breathe….

Austin broke out in laughter, a sound I hadn't heard in a while. I grinned, pushing him playfully off the piano bench. Not to be outdone, Austin grabbed my half-eaten pickle and took a giant bite, almost finishing it off.

"No! Not the pickle! Please, I'm begging you! Mercy!" I said, laughing, but still reaching for my pickle. Unfortunately, Austin was blessed with height, and I was not. He held it over me, out of my reach. "No fair." I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Fine. You know I can't resist the puppy dog eyes." Austin chuckled, handing me my pickle. Although he'd bitten out of it, I ate the rest, smirking at him. He rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, a silence settled over us. It was unusual. Normally, we have a never-ending banter about anything and everything. This was different. We stood there, in the middle of the practice room, saying absolutely nothing. I was sure he could hear my heart beat, it was so loud. Our breathing was quiet, and he fiddled with his bracelets while I kicked my boots around.

"I want to write a song about it."

"Let's do a song about this." We both said in unison, then stopped and laughed. Nodding my head, I said, "Well, let's get started."

7777777

After staying up until one in the morning writing a song about sadness, emotions, basically everything we felt about the divorces, the pair of us were drained. Changed into the sweats we kept for these song-writing occasions, Austin and I were snuggled up in our Snuggies on the floor in front of the TV.

Neither of us were aware of what we were watching, and all I could think about was my head on his strong shoulder, and his thumb tracing patterns on the palm of my hand. I shivered, pulling the Snuggie closer to me. Austin noticed my shivering, and slung a heavy arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer to his warm body. I breathed in the scent of him. Austin, mmm.

It was all happening too fast. We were trapped in a haze of late night sleepiness and emotion. Austin's head leaned down to my level, and I leaned in too… His big, warm hands were placed on either side of my face, and mine were on his strong arms. Our lips crashed together, a big mess of hands, heat, and hurry. It was passionate, forcing me to catch my breath.

In that one instant, I knew we were feeling everything together, as one. Our sadness and despair of our families, our happiness in each other, and our dreams for the future. The connection linked us together. I knew he felt it too by the shocked and wild expression on his face. I'm sure my face matched his.

We broke apart, bodies separated unwillingly. His brown eyes met mine, and I found something new there… I couldn't identify it.

"I-I'm sorry. I gotta-I'm just- Sorry." Austin muttered, stumbling over his words. Leaping up off the floor and throwing his Snuggie off, I watched as my beautiful blond rockstar raced out of the room. Leaving me alone and extremely confused.

A/N: Ooh, dramatic ending! Haha, just kidding. Anyways, thanks for reading, and be ready for new chapters to come! Please please please review!


	2. Chapter 2

I Won't Give Up: Chapter 2

A/N: Chapter 2, whoop whoop! Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally or anything else. Pretty please review, and enjoy!

Ally's POV

I was laying on my bed, wide awake at three in the morning, wondering why on earth Austin and I kissed. All of my thoughts jumbled, and I couldn't straighten them out to save my life. All that was half way coherent was a mental image of Austin's face. The way his light blond hair swoops over his forehead, just barely touching his eyelids. His kind brown eyes that bore into mine. Those full lips that could flash a crooked smile at any given time. I squeezed my eyes shut, never wanting to let the picture escape me.

My sheets were thrown off my body, and I shoved my pillow over my head. A few tears soaked into my pillowcase, and I choked them back quickly.

Turning over to my stomach, I sighed and hummed a new melody, slowly drifting off to sleep as I thought of Austin's sweet voice singing beautiful lyrics to me…

7777777

Slowly, I felt myself drift back into consciousness, and my eyelids lifted gradually. I caught a glimpse of the sun peeking through the blinds on my window, and I shot straight up. I grabbed my bedside clock and stared at the numbers, mentally willing them to turn back in time. I was late for work.

I raced through my morning routine, throwing on a wrinkled skirt off the floor of my closet, and slipping on the first pair of shoes I found. Pulling my hair back in a headband, I skipped breakfast and ran out of the front door and towards the mall.

On my way to Sonic Boom, I slammed into a tall, muscular body. Disoriented, I tripped over my feet and into the arms of the unknown stranger. "Ally?" A familiar voice asked, concerned.

It was Austin, of course. I smiled weakly up at him. "Hey," I said softly, retracting my body from his. I felt a blush creep up to my cheeks, and I looked down at my feet.

"You're late?" Austin asked, chuckling to himself, as if nothing had happened just a night ago.

"Yup, gotta go!" I took the opportunity to scurry away from as fast as I could. I glanced back and saw the confused expression on his face, and I sighed. Our relationship was just so complicated. Hello? We kissed, for God's sake! My body shivered at the thought. I remembered in great detail how his lips fit with mine so perfectly, how his hands touched me so gently. I wished I could relive it.

7777777

"Wow, Ally Dawson is late for work? Are you sick?" Trish hopped off the bench next to Sonic Boom as I entered in a hurry. Scrambling for the right key, I jammed it into the lock and twisted violently until it clicked.

"Can't talk now, Trish! My dad is going to come and check up on me any second and he can't know I was late." I flipped the closed sign to open, and set out the cash register. I grabbed my nametag and quickly clipped it onto my shirt.

"Sheesh." She complained, flipping her dark curls over her shoulder, scoffing. I rolled my eyes at her. "You do know that your outfit doesn't match whatsoever, right?" Trish giggled at my clothes, raising her eyebrows.

"Shoot! Really, Ally?" I talked out loud to myself, mentally kicking myself. Yeah, I looked pretty darn stupid.

"Why are you late? And why do you look so tired?" Trish asked.

"I overslept because I couldn't fall asleep last night. I kept thinking…"

"About what? Something's up, and I know it." She warned, sending me a look telling me that I better spill the beans or else. I rubbed my neck nervously.

"Well, I guess you could say that… Austin and I…we sort of, kind of…. Kissed." I finished, swallowing. Trish's eyes widened, and she started jumping up and down soundlessly. A huge grin spread across her face, and I hit her arm. "Trish, stop! Why are you happy?"

"I knew it would happen! I knew it! Dez totally owes me twenty bucks! Oh yeah!" She danced around the counter happily, cackling.

"Wait, what?" I questioned.

"I totally knew you and Austin were gonna end up together! I mean, come on. It's totally obvious how much chemistry you guys have. Let's be serious here." Trish put a hand on her hip, shrugging. My jaw dropped.

"What? No. No, that's crazy! It wasn't even real… I mean, we were both kind of caught up in the moment… I don't even know! I don't know what happened. But after we kissed, Austin just got up and ran out." I explained, realizing how crazy I sounded. Trish smirked.

"You like him. Be honest with me! You liked it, didn't you?" I bit my lip and gave a small nod. She gasped and proceeded to dance around more.

"Gosh, just please stop! This is so embarrassing." My cheeks burned.

"But it's so cute! Now all we have to do is find Austin and make him explain why he left. Ally, he's totally into you." Trish grinned, pulling me towards the door.

"No! God, no. I don't want to talk about this with him! It will be so awkward and ruin our friendship forever. I can't risk that. I can't lose him, Trish." Tears sprang to my eyes at the thought. I wiped them away quickly. Trish's determined expression softened, and she put an arm around me.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm sure it will all work out. You either start dating or just go back to being friends. No big deal." Trish said, but I could tell she was already plotting. I sighed in defeat.

7777777

In the food court on my lunch break, I was perched at a high table near the hotdog cart, sipping a lemonade. Austin and I always used to split a lemonade…

Suddenly a tall shadow was cast over my table, and I looked up into the face of the person standing in front of me, squinting my eyes from the sun. It was Dez. He was dressed in a ridiculous outfit once again, with his huge clown shoes.

"Hey there, Ally!" He smiled happily, and I chuckled.

"Hey, Dez. Wanna sit?" I offered the other seat to him. He plopped down and leaned forward towards me.

"I need to talk to you about something." He said in a mysterious tone, and I sighed, expecting him to ask me about monkeys or quesadillas. Who knows.

"Go on." I nodded, letting him begin.

"Look, I know you and Austin kissed. He told me. And may I just say that I am totally supportive of this new couple thing. I won't be jealous of you if you cut into me and Austin's time. I get it, you're his girlfriend." Dez winked at me, flipping his shiny red hair. My eyebrows raised in shock.

"You think I'm Austin's girlfriend?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, he told me you guys kissed!" Dez explained, rolling his eyes at my 'stupidity'. I burst out laughing.

"Dez, Austin and I aren't dating." He looked extremely confused, which made me laugh even more. "What exactly did he tell you?"

"Austin said that you guys were up in the practice room writing a song, and that you guys kissed. He said it just felt right." Dez said, shrugging. My eyes widened. It felt right? Yeah, I guess it did. He was totally right. Dez gave me a strange look as realization dawned on me.

"Yeah, but we aren't going out. We just kissed and I haven't really talked to him since." I told him.

"Aw! I wanted you to go out with him! I like you, not those other girls he's been with. They're all really dumb." Dez pouted, and I chuckled.

"Well, thank you, Dez. I guess I kind of need to talk to Austin, then, huh?"

"Yes. And when you do, make sure to tell him that the pineapple is in the control room." Dez said seriously, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"Of course." I nodded, smiling to myself.

7777777

Charging through the Moons' front door, I stopped in the foyer. "Austin?" I called, listening for an answer.

"Ally, dear, is that you?" Mrs. Moon answered from inside the laundry room. I wandered over, and picked up a laundry basket outside the door, handing it to her. Austin definitely got his looks from his mother. Mrs. Moon had the same blond hair and warm brown eyes that twinkled. However, Austin inherited his father's nose.

"Hey, Mrs. Moon. Where's Austin?" I asked, grabbing a shirt to fold for her. She smiled at me gratefully. I wanted to help out since I knew how much she was going through, and I felt bad.

"He should be in his room. Is there something going on? He's been acting kind of strange lately." She asked me, concerned. She knew that if something was going on, I'd know. And she was right.

"Um, yeah. I don't know if he wants you to know, though…" I trailed off, hoping she'd understand. I'd rather not tell her I'd kissed her son. She nodded.

"I get it. You can go on up, Ally. Thanks for the help." Mrs. Moon gave me a quick hug and took the blouse from my hands, pushing me towards the stairs. I grinned at her; I loved Austin's mom. She was kind of like my mom, since I didn't talk to my own mother.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I bumped into Tommy, Austin's older brother. Tommy looked nothing like Austin. He had his father's dark hair and was a little more muscular and bulky. Austin was more tall and lanky. He did have Austin's eyes. "What's up, Ally?" He nodded to me.

"Hey, Tommy." I smiled, continuing to bound up the wooden steps. Austin must have heard me coming, because I saw his door swing open a little, an invitation for me to enter. I stepped through the door cautiously. Austin was sitting on his window seat, facing the window. He was shirtless and in basketball shorts. Austin's bare back was surprisingly attractive…

"Hi." He said, still not turning to look at me.

"Hi." I walked slowly towards him, and sat next to him, facing his open window. I could smell the ocean breeze on the air, and see the flowers of his mother's garden swaying gently. It was beautiful.

"Want to talk?" I asked, nudging his arm. The small contact of our skin made me shiver.

Austin did not answer, just turned to look me straight in the eye. My breath caught, and I heard his catch as well. The muscle in his jaw twitched, and I clenched my hands into fists, nervous.

"What?" I asked self-consciously, rubbing my arms.

"I'm going to do something, and you have to promise not to hit me or leave or something, ok?" His innocent brown eyes blinked, and I nodded slowly, afraid.

Austin leaned in ever so slowly, and I stopped breathing all together. His body got closer and closer. My heart pounded wildly, and I was scared he would hear it. A small smile danced across his face, and Austin closed the small gap between our faces. His lips met mine, and I immediately kissed back, without question. I felt him smile against my lips, and I intertwined my hands into his soft hair. His hands wrapped around my waist, pushing me up against the wall of his window seat. I shifted my position to allow him easier access.

This kiss… it was too good. I felt the breeze flow through the open window, and I melted into Austin. Our bodies meshed together perfectly, and I couldn't believe it was happening. Again. My hands found their way down to his bare chest, and I felt him shiver. I grinned, glad I could make such a big impression on him. He chuckled, and kissed me harder. It started out so soft and gentle, and now it was so heated and passionate. I couldn't stand it, it was so perfect.

We stopped to catch our breath, but didn't move away from each other. I looked into his eyes, and smiled wide. He touched my hair.

"Um, wow." I whispered, still unbelieving.

"Yeah." Austin agreed.

"Why did you do that? Not that I'm complaining, I was just wondering."

"I was thinking so much about our first kiss. It had felt so perfect and right to me. I never wanted to forget it. I knew we would have to talk about it eventually, and I knew I wanted to kiss you again. But I didn't know how you felt. So I kissed you again to know what you were feeling and because I just really really wanted to." Austin shrugged sheepishly, winking at me, making me blush. "Ally, you are so beautiful." He told me, and for once, I believed him.

We sat in silence for a moment, and I suspected he was waiting for me to answer him. I gathered my thoughts.

"Ok, you can't just go kissing me anytime you want! It's so unfair. You have this power over me or something, and I can't help but stop breathing when you kiss me." I scolded him.

The tall blond raised his hands in defense. "That's not my problem! I can't help it if I'm just so irresistible." He grinned cockily. I shoved him off the window seat.

"And I felt it too. When we kiss… it _is_ perfect. It feels so right. In case you didn't figure out what I was feeling, I freaking loved it." I smiled, throwing a pillow at him. He laughed happily.

"That's good to know. So, Ally, I guess there's only one other thing to discuss." Austin scooped me up unexpectedly in his strong arms, and plopped me down on his messy bed. He dashed over to his closet and grabbed something off the top shelf. A small jewelry box. I covered my face to hide my blush. Austin pulled my hands down, looking into my eyes.

"And what's this thing we must discuss?" I asked playfully.

He sat down on his knees in front of me, resting his arms on my lap. "Will you, Ally Dawson, be my girlfriend?" My rockstar offered me the jewelry box, and I took it.

Inside was a delicate silver necklace with the initials A&A on a heart. I fingered the shiny necklace, and admired its beauty. I'm sad to admit, that I was super cheesy and emotional and actually cried. Yep, I cried. A few tears did fall. Austin looked worried when he saw this.

"What's wrong?" He asked me hurriedly.

"Nothing, nothing! It's just so amazing. Thank you Austin." I breathed, putting the necklace on with a satisfying 'click' of the clasp. He grinned at me.

"You haven't answered my question."

"Well, that depends. Do I get to kiss you anytime I want?" I pretended to think about my answer. He rolled his eyes, and pulled me down onto his lap.

"But of course. Just as long as_ I_ get to kiss you whenever I want!" Austin kissed my nose, and I giggled.

"Then my answer is yes." I whispered in his ear, and he quickly turned to connect our lips once more. Sparks flew. Just like in the Taylor Swift song.

A/N: How was that? I have so many ideas for this story, I just don't know which one to use! Anyways, thanks for reading, and please review!


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